Your Application for Asylum / Ihr Asylantrag

The second stage of the asylum process involves your asylum application and your first steps in Stuttgart. The BAMF is again the most important authority during this stage of the process, but local authorities belonging to the city of Stuttgart are also involved, such as the Citizens Advice Bureau and the immigration authority, as well as the social benefits department and the Linguistic Integration Clearing House at the social security office. Addresses and advice.

In Stuttgart, there are shared accommodation buildings in various parts of the city. Upon your arrival you will be taken to one of these places of accommodation. There, your home´s director or a social worker will show you which room you will be living in and which people you be sharing with. Your home´s director will explain the rules and procedures of the building to you. If there is anything that you don't understand, you can speak to your home´s director at any time or ask a fellow compatriot for a translation.

When you send a letter, you should write the sender's address in the upper left-hand corner of the envelope and the recpient's address in the lower right corner.

My address:

Name

Street and house number

Post code and town/city

If a member of your core family (spouse and underage children) is housed in other accommodation within Stuttgart, you can inform your home's director of your relocation wish. If a mutual agreement is reached with the Social Welfare Office, it may be possible for a relocation to take place. If one of your family members is housed in another city, you can apply for relocation.

To do this, you can apply to the Foreign Office for relocation to this city (known as a redistribution request). Your home's director or a social worker will help you with this.

In addition to this, you need to have biometric passport photos made.The foreign office is responsible for foreign affairs. You will receive an appointment from them on-site. The address and public transport stop of the Foreign Office can be found in the Appendix. The opening hours are also listed there.

One of your first steps is to register at the Residence Registration Office in Stuttgart. The residence Registration Office is responsible for handling the registration of your place of residence.

The shared accommodation centre will normally take care of the registration for you.You should find out from your home´s director or a social worker whether your shared accommodation centre is handling your registration or if you are required to go to the Residence registration Office in person. There is no need to make an appointment
You should get your landlord's certificate filled out and signed and take this with you.

There is a Residence Registration Office in every district. You will receive a certificate of registration upon completing your registration. If your shared accommodation centre deals with your registration, the certificate of registration will be sent to you. The address and public transport connections for each Residence Registration Office can be found in the Appendix. The office hours are also detailed there.

After registering at the Residence Registration Office, you will have to get your address changed on your proof of arrival document or your BüMA at the Foreign Office. You should also inform the BAMF immediately about your change of address.

Personal registration: What do I need to bring with me to the Residence Registration Office?

Firstly, we wish you success with your asylum process. If you haven't already made your asylum application, your appointment date will be sent to you by post. For this appointment you will have to go to the BAMF office indicated in the letter. The BAMF office is responsible for conducting the asylum process.

If you have already made an asylum application, you must now wait until you receive a letter sent to your shared accommodation regarding the decision made. You should also start to prepare for your hearing now.

Even though it can take quite a long time to receive an appointment date or for your asylum application to be processed, you should still check your post every day to see if you have received a letter. Please keep your letters and their envelopes in a safe place.

As soon as you have arrived in Stuttgartand do not have access to any funds of your own, you will receive monthly support payments or benefits to cover all your basic living needs, in accordance with the Asylum Seekers' Benefit Act. For the month of your arrival and first few days in Stuttgart, this will be paid to you in the form of a cheque from the Department of Social Benefits for Refugees at the Social Welfare Office. The Social Welfare Office is responsible for people who find themselves in a personal or financial emergency situation. It is located close to Stuttgart's main train station.

The Department of Social Benefits for Refugees is the department
within the Social Welfare Office which is responsible, for administering social support and benefits for refugees. At your first appointment, a member of staff will record your data and give you a cash cheque. It's always advisable to keep a note of the name of the person and department in which you have scheduled a meeting.
This will allow you to ask at the Social Welfare Office where exactly you need to go for your appointment.

The address and nearest public transport station for the Social Welfare Office can be found in the Appendix.

Money: What do I need to bring with me to the Department of Social Benefits for Refugees?

To save you the time and effort of having to go to the Department of Social Benefits for Refugees at the Social Welfare Office every month to collect your support payments or benefits in the form of a cash cheque to cover your living costs as provided for in the Asylum Seekers´ Benefit Act, we strongly recommend that you open a bank account in Stuttgart.

Your home's director, a social worker or a volunteer will help you to open a bank account. You can cash in your open cheque at the bank or use the cash dispenser to withdraw money from your account at any time.

There are various different bank branches in Stuttgart. These include, for example, BW Bank, Volksbank and Spardabank.

Your home´s director, a social workers or a volunteer will be able to provide you with the address of a bank and the name of the nearest station to get off at for visiting the bank.

In order for you to be able to communicate effectively in Stuttgart in the future, it is important that you learn the German language. A free German course will probably be provided in your shelter by volunteer helpers from the local neighbourhood.

The city of Stuttgart also offers German courses. Each course comprises 348 hours and leads to the attainment of the so-called A1 language level. Check with your home's director or a social worker on site to see which German course would be suitable for you. You need a certificate of eligibility in order to participate in a language course. This can be obtained at the Linguistic Integration Clearing House at your Social Welfare Office. Please have some patience as it can take quite a long time before you receive your certificate of eligibility.

The Linguistic Integration Clearing House is responsible for giving advice about and procuring various forms of German funding for Stuttgart migrants and for their placement on German integration courses. The address and nearest station for the Linguistic Integration Clearing House at the Social Welfare Office can be found in the Appendix.

In the meantime, why not check out the free online language course offered by the adult education centre (VHS). You can find it under the following link: www.iwdl.de/cms/%20lernen/start.html